Jared Saylor's bloghttp://earthjustice.org/blogs/jared-saylor
enA Coal Ash Clean Up Job Not Well Donehttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-july/a-coal-ash-clean-up-job-not-well-done
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>A Coal Ash Clean Up Job Not Well Done</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Wednesday, July 23, 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/dan-river-coal-ash_waterkeeper-alliance-800.jpg?itok=4HeiwYRa" width="800" height="600" alt="Coal ash-contaminated sludge from North Carolina&#039;s Dan River, retrieved on July 17, 2014." title="Coal ash-contaminated sludge from North Carolina&#039;s Dan River, retrieved on July 17, 2014." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Coal ash-contaminated sludge from North Carolina's Dan River, retrieved on July 17, 2014. This is what Duke Energy calls an adequate clean up of their coal ash mess in the Dan River.</p>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>When I was a boy, if I told my mother I cleaned only six percent of my room and then headed out the door to play, I’d get a swift turn back to finish the job, most likely accompanied by some harsh words and her fearsome “<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stink%20eye&amp;defid=1864390" target="_blank">stink eye</a>.” It’s a lesson we all learn at an early age: clean up <u><strong>all</strong></u> of your mess.</p>
<p>But apparently Duke Energy—which was responsible for the 39,000 tons of toxic coal ash and 27 million gallons of coal ash-contaminated wastewater dumped into the Dan River in North Carolina in February—feels that cleaning up only six percent of the spilled ash is good enough for them to call it quits and go home. They seem to be following the pattern of a previous claim of “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Accomplished_speech" target="_blank">Mission Accomplished</a>” well before it actually was.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/92-coal-ash-still-coating-north-carolina-river-duke-energy-declares-cleanup-260084" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> and <a href="http://www.wfmynews2.com/story/news/local/top-news/2014/07/17/coal-ash-remains-but-duke-energy-completes-cleanup/12805655/">many</a> other <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/07/18/5053067/cleanup-of-dan-river-ash-sparks.html" target="_blank">outlets</a> reported recently that Duke Energy claimed that cleanup of the spill was complete. Duke itself claimed in a <a href="http://www.duke-energy.com/news/releases/2014071601.asp" target="_blank">press release</a> that “Since the operation began on May 6, approximately 2,500 tons of coal ash and river sediment have been removed” from the Dan River near the Dan River Steam Station where the spill occurred. Once they got that coal ash cleaned up, they called it a day and ended the cleanup process, leaving approximately 36,000 tons behind. </p>
<p><a class="inline-tweet tweet-blue" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22environmental%20groups%20...%20are%20not%20convinced%20that%20the%206%25%20solution%20results%20in%20anything%20approaching%20%27clean.%27%22%20%23CoalAsh%20ejus.tc%2F1r9iMRu" onclick="ga('send', 'event', 'Blog Post: Dan River Cleanup', 'Click on Inline Tweet', 'Inline Tweet');" target="_blank" title="Tweet this quote.">But environmental groups (and pretty much any reasonable person who has ever had to clean up a mess) are not convinced that the six percent solution results in anything approaching “clean.”</a> “Where are the other 37,000 tons?” said Kathleen Sullivan, with the <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/southern-environmental-law-center-says-percent-of-coal-ash-still/article_97c829d4-1141-11e4-804d-001a4bcf6878.html" target="_blank">Southern Environmental Law Center</a>. “They have not accounted for 94 percent of the coal-ash waste spilled into the Dan River. Duke has removed about 6 percent of the coal-ash waste it spilled and at just two places: at the spill site itself and the Danville dam. It is hard to believe that the coal ash hasn’t collected elsewhere in places in the river where it could be removed.”</p>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/waterkeeperalliance/sets/72157645759701175" target="_blank"><img alt="Waterkeeper Alliance Attorney Pete Harrison retrieves core samples at the Dan River on July 17, 2014 (left), finding a black plume of coal ash just below the river bottom." src="/sites/default/files/dan-river-coal-ash2_waterkeeper-alliance-800.jpg" /></a>
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<div class="field__item even">Waterkeeper Alliance Attorney Pete Harrison retrieves core samples at the Dan River on July 17, 2014 (left), finding a black plume of coal ash just below the river bottom. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/waterkeeperalliance/sets/72157645759701175" target="_blank">More photos »</a></div>
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<div class="field__item even">Photo courtesy of Waterkeeper Alliance</div>
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<p><a href="http://waterkeeper.org/2014/07/18/claims-of-dan-river-clean-up-by-duke-energy-proven-false/" target="_blank">Waterkeeper Alliance</a> attorney Pete Harrison said, “This arrogant announcement from Duke Energy is the ultimate insult to the people of North Carolina and Virginia whose river has been devastated by the company’s toxic ash spill.” Pete conducted testing on the Dan River last week, after the announcement from Duke Energy and found a thick black plume of coal ash just inches below the bottom of the river.</p>
<p>But they’re not alone. Tim White, a columnist with the <a href="http://www.fayobserver.com/opinion/news_columns/white-is-a-percent-solution-good-enough-for-us/article_1d9b9249-70c8-504c-8f9b-1c4cd79201de.html" target="_blank">Fayetteville Observer</a> in North Carolina opined that the people living along the Dan River shouldn't be satisfied with such a meager cleanup. White wrote, "And the rest of us who live downstream from other Duke ash ponds might pay heed to this. The lousy return on investment is a good reason why we shouldn't trust Duke and its regulators to keep us safe. And good reason why the company should be compelled to move all of the ash from all of the ponds to safe storage away from the water supplies of major population centers—and not at just four out of 14 sites.”</p>
<p>The coal ash problem in North Carolina continues as more sites are found to be contaminating nearby waters with coal ash. It doesn’t take a catastrophic spill of thousands of tons of ash to cause a problem; <a class="inline-tweet tweet-blue" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22The%20slow%2C%20steady%20leak%20of%20this%20toxic%20waste%20into%20the%20waters%20where%20we%20swim%2C%20fish%20%2B%20drink%20is%20a%20silent%20killer.%22%20%23CoalAsh%20ejus.tc%2F1r9iMRu" onclick="ga('send', 'event', 'Blog Post: Dan River Cleanup', 'Click on Inline Tweet', 'Inline Tweet');" target="_blank" title="Tweet this quote.">the slow, steady leak of this toxic waste into the waters where we swim, fish and drink is a silent killer.</a> And unfortunately, the problem is not limited to North Carolina. The EPA is set to <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2014/epa-agrees-to-deadline-for-first-ever-u-s-coal-ash-regulations" target="_blank">finalize long-awaited federal coal ash regulations</a> that will protect communities from disasters like this one. Let’s just hope the rules are in place before another disaster occurs.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Past Coverage of the Dan River Coal Ash Disaster</h3>
<ul><li><a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-february/nc-regulators-ding-duke-for-a-penny-per-toxic-ton">North Carolina Regulators Ding Duke for a Penny Per Toxic Ton</a> (Feb. 24, 2014): <em>Duke Energy's $99,000 penalty was nothing—it's like someone who earns $50,000 a year, getting a fine of $1.90. Barely amounting to a library fine, this is no deterrent for the likes of Duke.</em></li>
<li><a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-february/east-of-eden-nc-toxic-coal-ash-spill-defies-state-borders">East of Eden: North Carolina Toxic Coal Ash Spill Defies State Borders</a> (Feb. 10, 2014): <em>Hellish coal ash mess in North Carolina is Virginia’s problem, too.</em></li>
<li><a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-february/nc-coal-ash-spill-demonstrates-urgent-need-to-close-ponds">North Carolina Coal Ash Spill Demonstrates Urgent Need to Close Ponds</a> (Feb. 6, 2014): <em>Duke Energy dumps 8,000 pounds of arsenic into the Dan River.</em></li>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/coal">Coal</a>, <a href="/tags/coal-ash">Coal Ash</a>, <a href="/tags/environmental-protection-agency">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, <a href="/tags/tr-ash-talk">Tr-Ash Talk</a>, <a href="/tags/water">Water</a></span>
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Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:38:19 +0000Jared Saylor31685 at http://earthjustice.orgCoal Ash Stories Come to Washingtonhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-july/coal-ash-stories-come-to-washington
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Coal Ash Stories Come to Washington</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Tuesday, July 08, 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/tva-car_united-mtn-defense_800.jpg?itok=X3Jkbnd5" width="800" height="600" alt="The devastating TVA Kingston coal ash spill of 2008." title="The devastating TVA Kingston coal ash spill of 2008." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>The aftermath of the devastating TVA Kingston coal ash spill of 2008.</p>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>It was standing room only, today, in a stately meeting room in the U.S. Capitol building as Senate staffers and a group of citizens gathered for a briefing about the hazards of toxic coal ash waste. <a href="/coalash">Earthjustice</a> and the Sierra Club organized the briefing in an effort to educate elected officials and their staff on the importance of keeping off the Senate floor any legislation that would prevent the EPA from regulating this toxic waste.</p>
<p>We&rsquo;ve been here before. No <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2013/new-legislation-subverts-protections-from-toxic-coal-ash">fewer</a> than <a href="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/S1751-fact-sheet.pdf" target="_blank">six</a> <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2012/new-legislation-a-dangerous-giveaway-to-coal-industry">times</a> over the last four years have House and Senate members tried to subvert EPA regulations on coal ash. Time and again, they&rsquo;ve introduced standalone legislation or added riders to unrelated bills that would prevent the EPA from ever regulating coal ash. In 2010 the agency proposed the first-ever rules that would protect communities near these sites; they have languished since. It took <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2014/epa-agrees-to-deadline-for-first-ever-u-s-coal-ash-regulations">a lawsuit brought by Earthjustice</a> on behalf of 10 local and national public health and environmental groups and one Native American tribe to force the EPA to set a deadline of Dec. 19 to finalize these rules. Today&rsquo;s briefing was an opportunity to let the Senate know that they should not allow any effort to stop this important public health move.</p>
<p>Frank Holleman, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center (who has been often quoted in the news recently, <a href="http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2014/04/23/duke-energys-coal-ash-spill-cost-b/8051835/" target="_blank">for obvious reasons</a>) moderated a panel that included <a href="http://earthjustice.org/50states/2013/alan-lockwood">Dr. Alan Lockwood</a>, Emeritus Professor of Neurology and Nuclear Medicine at the University at Buffalo; <a href="http://www.dinecare.org/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Lori Goodman</a>, treasurer and co-founder of Dine CARE; <a href="http://earthjustice.org/50states/randy-ellis">Randy Ellis</a>, a Roane County resident who serves on the Roane County Commission representing Harriman, Tennessee, the site of the 2008 TVA Kingston coal ash disaster; and Wallace McRae, a third-generation rancher and <a href="http://www.cowboypoetry.com/mcrae.htm" target="_blank">cowboy poet</a> who owns and operates a 30,0000-acre cattle ranch in Forsyth, Montana.</p>
<p>Traveling from across the country, the speakers represented the health, environmental and political impacts of coal ash contamination. In Tennessee, a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/22/coal-ash-spill/4143995/" target="_blank">coal ash disaster</a> changed a community forever. <a href="http://vault.sierraclub.org/sierra/201003/coal.aspx" target="_blank">In Montana</a>, coal ash contaminating a watershed is killing cattle and destroying a way of life. In New Mexico, <a href="http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2014/05/sierra-club-releases-report-showing-dangers-coal-ash-four-corners-power-plant" target="_blank">55 million tons</a> of coal ash stored in unlined pits poisons the waters and lives of a nearby Navajo community. Across the country, coal ash dust is increasing asthma attacks and damaging our lungs.</p>
<p>These citizens came to Washington, D.C. to tell their stories to their elected officials and the decision makers who hold the key to coal ash protections. <a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=1549&amp;_ga=1.16081909.23401482.1391809791" target="_blank">Let&rsquo;s hope they&rsquo;re listening</a>.</p></div></div></div><!--
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/50-states">50 States</a>, <a href="/tags/coal">Coal</a>, <a href="/tags/coal-ash">Coal Ash</a>, <a href="/tags/congress">Congress</a>, <a href="/tags/environmental-protection-agency">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, <a href="/tags/tr-ash-talk">Tr-Ash Talk</a></span>
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Tue, 08 Jul 2014 18:22:58 +0000Jared Saylor31621 at http://earthjustice.orgMissouri Communities Pay a High Price for Lack of Toxic Coal Waste Regulationhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-december/missouri-communities-pay-a-high-price-for-lack-of-toxic-coal-waste-regulation
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Missouri Communities Pay a High Price for Lack of Toxic Coal Waste Regulation</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Tuesday, December 17, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Even though Patricia Schuba and I live nearly a thousand miles apart, we&rsquo;ve been seeing a lot of each other lately. Patricia is the president of the <a href="http://leoenvironmental.org/" target="_blank">Labadie Environmental Organization</a> and the director of the coal ash program for <a href="http://www.citizenscoalcouncil.org/" target="_blank">Citizens Coal Council</a>.</p>
<p>In May, she traveled to Washington, D.C. as a <a href="/50states/2013/patricia-schuba">Clean Air Ambassador</a>, representing her home state of Missouri. In July, she returned to Washington to testify at an Environmental Protection Agency public hearing on power plant water pollution, and in October, she and I spoke on a panel about the impacts of coal ash at an environmental conference.</p>
<div><img alt="Patricia Schuba." src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/schuba-80.jpg" /></div>
<p>Patricia represents her community in the fight to clean up coal ash pollution. In the fifth part of our ongoing series leading up to the 5th anniversary of the coal ash spill in Kingston, TN, Patricia tells us about the Ameren power plant in Labadie, MO.</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">In the fall of 2009, the topic of a proposed <a href="http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=coal+ash+landfill&amp;qpvt=coal+ash+landfill&amp;FORM=IGRE" target="_blank">coal ash landfill</a> monopolized the conversation at a local book club meeting in the small river town of <a href="http://labadiechamberofcommerce.org/index.htm">Labadie,</a> Missouri, the home of Ameren&rsquo;s Labadie Power Station, Missouri's largest coal-fired power plant.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Within one month, the book club organized as a nonprofit and held its first meeting in the basement of a local church. We are now called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LabadieEnvironmentalOrganization" target="_blank">Labadie Environmental Organization (LEO)</a> and we have successfully engaged the extended community of the metropolitan St. Louis area, regulators at the state and national levels, and legally challenged the permitting of dumping toxic wastes in the water table of the Big Muddy just west of the <a href="http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/10/17978.pdf" target="_blank">confluence</a> and St. Louis. LEO's success has been in giving voice to local people and in doing so, has begun to reclaim community power in making decisions that impact the environment and our local economies.</p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">The community surrounding the Labadie power plant has been exposed to 40 years of coal ash pollution.</p>
<p class="exim-story">LEO and families living near coal ash sites in Missouri want EPA to promulgate a <a href="http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/ccr-table.htm" target="_blank">"Subtitle C" coal ash rule</a> and a zero discharge waste water rule by May 2014 or earlier. Missouri has issues with on-site and off-site disposal of toxic coal combustion products as evidenced in the <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/epa-settlement-raises-questions-about-coal-ash-in-missouri/article_206aaa08-cf6c-56ad-95d1-3262cde83066.html" target="_blank">Rotary Drilling fill site and the Mississippi Lime</a> mine-fill case. In a state like Missouri, with karst and limestone geology, these toxins can easily contaminate water.</p>
<p class="exim-story">&ldquo;Our families are drinking, bathing in and using this water for everything in our community and we can see the airborne coal ash coming off the ponds and fill sites,&rdquo; said LEO member Christine Alt, who has two small children growing up less than a mile from the Labadie coal ash lagoons. &ldquo;I have to worry every day what impact this pollution will have on my children.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">LEO has engaged a cross-section of the metropolitan St. Louis area, as it turns out hundreds to <a href="http://www.newsmagazinenetwork.com/201101312343/final-labadie-landfill-hearing-rescheduled-for-february-8/" target="_blank">local hearings</a> and collects thousands of petitions and postcard signatures. The community has maintained that they should have a voice in the process of determining policy; they face water pollution from a <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/leaks-from-ameren-toxic-waste-pond-in-labadie-stir-fears/article_1077fe32-0c9c-5bbf-a2df-27aaf6499ad5.html" target="_blank">40-year old leaking, unlined coal ash lagoon</a> and exposure to airborne particulate matter from uncovered mounds of ash. Their local utility is moving forward with plans to build a 400 acre coal ash landfill, sitting in the water table, east of the existing lagoons. Monitoring wells thousands of feet from the leaking pond show arsenic levels at six times the <a href="http://water.epa.gov/drink/standardsriskmanagement.cfm" target="_blank">Drinking Water Standard</a>. Alarmingly, hundreds depend on the local aquifer for drinking water and irrigation of crops. Midwestern states like Missouri rank high in <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2011/study-finds-state-protections-for-coal-ash-grossly-inadequate" target="_blank">lack of regulation</a>, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2010/new-study-shows-coal-ash-water-contamination-much-worse-than-previous-estimates#highlights" target="_blank">risks of water pollution</a> and <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/data/state.htm" target="_blank">cancer rates</a>.</p>
<p class="exim-story">LEO members have traveled to the state&rsquo;s capital and to Washington, D.C. to raise support for regulations that protect communities in a time when legislators and governors are ignoring these risks. We want clean water for our community and are proud to join the hundreds of other communities who deserve the same.</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p>If you missed it, read part one of this blog series, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/no-epa-progress-on-anniversary-of-coal-ash-disaster">"No EPA Progress on Anniversary of Coal Ash Disaster"</a>. The series continued with <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/dirtying-america-s-remote-frontier">Russ Maddox</a> on the impacts of coal mined in Alaska and burned at Alaskan power plants, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/the-insanity-of-pennsylvania-coal-ash">Lisa Graves-Marcucci of EIP</a> on the work being done to clean up the pollution at the Little Blue Run coal ash impoundment, and <a href="/blog/2013-december/pure-michigan-might-not-be-so-pure">Clean Water Action's Nic Clark</a> on the contamination of Michigan's waters from coal ash.</p>
<p>Learn more about coal ash in an <a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">interactive infographic</a>:</p>
<p><a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank"><img height="101" width="550" src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/coalash-info-head2-550.gif" alt="The Coal Ash Problem, presented by Earthjustice." /></a></p>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/coal-ash">Coal Ash</a>, <a href="/tags/environmental-protection-agency">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, <a href="/tags/tr-ash-talk">Tr-Ash Talk</a>, <a href="/tags/water">Water</a></span>
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Tue, 17 Dec 2013 15:03:57 +0000Jared Saylor30451 at http://earthjustice.org"Pure Michigan" Might Not be So Purehttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-december/pure-michigan-might-not-be-so-pure
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>&quot;Pure Michigan&quot; Might Not be So Pure</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Thursday, December 05, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>&ldquo;Pure Michigan.&rdquo;</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/puremichigan" target="_blank">ad campaign</a> Michigan is using to entice travelers to visit the Great Lakes state. Whether it&rsquo;s fishing, swimming, boating or just lounging on the beach. Michigan wants us to know that it&rsquo;s a great vacation spot.</p>
<p>But what our friends at Clean Water Action in Michigan are showing us is that many of Michigan&rsquo;s waters aren&rsquo;t as &ldquo;pure&rdquo; as we thought. Coal ash has contaminated many Michigan waters, a silent threat to Michiganders health.</p>
<div><img alt="Nic Clark." src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/nic-80.jpg" /></div>
<p>In the fourth part of <a href="http://earthjustice.org/category/tags/tr-ash-talk">our series</a> leading up to the anniversary of the TVA spill in Kingston, TN, we hear from Nic Clark, state director of <a href="http://www.cleanwateraction.org/mi" target="_blank">Clean Water Action, Michigan</a>. Nic is a native of Michigan and is committed to protecting his home state from toxic coal ash and other pollution.</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">Michigan&rsquo;s coal-fired power plants create a huge mess. Not only do these plants spew pollution into our air, they also produce millions of pounds of coal ash, which pollutes our water and puts our communities at risk. &nbsp;We needed to know more about the threat from <a href="http://cleanwateraction.org/files/publications/factsheets/CoalAshFactSheet03%2015%2012a.pdf" target="_blank">coal ash</a> and find out what we could do to protect our communities. Our report, <a href="http://www.cleanwateraction.org/MIToxicTrashExposed" target="_blank">Toxic Trash Exposed: Coal Ash Pollution in Michigan</a>, discusses the threat, outlines loopholes in state law that puts &ldquo;Pure Michigan&rdquo; at risk, and offers solutions to get this toxic mess cleaned up.</p>
<div><a href="http://www.cleanwateraction.org/MIToxicTrashExposed" target="_blank"><img src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/coalash-report-200.jpg" alt=" Coal Ash Pollution in Michigan." /></a></div>
<p class="exim-story">What we found was eye-opening. Every year in Michigan coal plants produce more than <a href="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/mi-coal-ash-factsheet-0812.pdf" target="_blank">1.7 million tons</a> of coal ash. Coal ash is full of toxic chemicals like mercury, arsenic and lead. Environmental Protection Agency risk assessments have long shown that the dangers of coal ash pollution and the risks to human health and the environment are real. Still, there are no federal regulations, and weak state rules means that coal ash is less regulated than our household trash.</p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">There are 29 known coal ash disposal sites in Michigan and 19 are within five miles of one of the Great Lakes. Several sit right on a bay of a Great Lake and every disposal site is on or near a lake, river, stream, or wetland. Making matters worse&mdash;many of these disposal sites lack basic safeguards like protective liners or groundwater monitoring, increasing the chances that coal ash will leak directly into our water.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Unfortunately, accidents related to coal ash disposal sites can, and do, happen. November 1st of this year marks <a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/2011/11/01/7240/coal-ash-spills-lake-michigan-after-bluff-collapse" target="_blank">the two year anniversary of a disastrous coal ash spill into Lake Michigan</a>. A large section of a coal ash dam collapsed beside the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant in Wisconsin, spewing untold quantities of coal ash directly into the lake.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Fifteen of the 29 coal ash disposal sites are unregulated by state authorities in Michigan. We don&rsquo;t know whether or not they are contaminating our water. And there is no way for a community to protect themselves. The Wisconsin spill is a cautionary tale of what can happen when we provide corporate polluters with a free pass to dispose of this toxic substance. We must take bold action to ensure the proper coal ash disposal safeguards are put in place to protect and preserve our Great Lakes legacy.</p>
<p class="exim-story">In addition to the threats posed by unchecked coal ash storage sites, there are other serious problems created by coal ash. Under the &ldquo;beneficial reuse&rdquo; provisions of Michigan law, coal ash is often used in trenches as construction fill or spread on agricultural fields. This type of &ldquo;reuse&rdquo; can be found all over the state in places like <a href="http://www.cleanenergynowmi.org/2013/02/clean-energy-advocates-expose-coal-ash-discovery-on-michigan-state-universitys-campus/" target="_blank">Michigan State University</a> and can lead to serious contamination of our water.</p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">Water defines our state and is central to Michigan&rsquo;s economy. Major tourism, agriculture, and fishing industries depend on the health of rivers, lakes, and streams. The Great Lakes contain over 20% of the world&rsquo;s fresh surface water. Unmitigated coal ash pollution threatens the health of our water and Michigan&rsquo;s economy.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Weak state regulations are made worse by the absence of strong EPA rules addressing the long-term disposal of coal ash and an effort in Congress to pass legislation that would prevent the EPA from ever setting federal regulations for this waste. The state can and must do more to protect public health and water quality by overseeing handling and disposal of coal ash and cleaning up contaminated and leaking coal ash sites.</p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">Coal ash pollution is preventable. As <a href="http://cleanwateraction.org/files/publications/Toxic Trash Exposed - Coal Ash Pollution in Michigan.pdf">Toxic Trash Exposed</a> shows, measures like requiring protective liners and ground water monitoring for storage sites can protect our water and safeguard our communities. Ultimately, the best way to deal with coal ash is to create a clean energy future by retiring coal plants, remediating polluted coal ash sites, and creating new investments in Michigan-made renewable energy technologies.</p>
<p class="exim-story"><a href="http://cleanwateraction.org/programinitiative/clean-up-coal-ash" target="_blank">Clean Water Action</a> and <a href="http://www.cleanwaterfund.org/" target="_blank">Clean Water Fund</a> will continue to fight for strong regulations for our communities and our water at a state and federal level. We hope our politicians in Washington will do the same by opposing any attempt to subvert the EPA&rsquo;s authority and support federal regulations that protect Michigan from this toxic threat.</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p>If you missed it, read part one of this blog series, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/no-epa-progress-on-anniversary-of-coal-ash-disaster">"No EPA Progress on Anniversary of Coal Ash Disaster"</a>. The series continued with <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/dirtying-america-s-remote-frontier">an opinion piece from Russ Maddox</a> on the impacts of coal mined in Alaska and burned at Alaskan power plants in part two, and <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/the-insanity-of-pennsylvania-coal-ash">a report from Lisa Graves-Marcucci of EIP</a> on the work being done to clean up the pollution at the Little Blue Run coal ash impoundment.</p>
<p>Learn more about coal ash in an <a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">interactive infographic</a>:</p>
<p><a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank"><img height="101" width="550" src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/coalash-info-head2-550.gif" alt="The Coal Ash Problem, presented by Earthjustice." /></a></p>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/coal">Coal</a>, <a href="/tags/coal-ash">Coal Ash</a>, <a href="/tags/environmental-protection-agency">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, <a href="/tags/obama-administration">Obama administration</a>, <a href="/tags/tr-ash-talk">Tr-Ash Talk</a>, <a href="/tags/water">Water</a></span>
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Thu, 05 Dec 2013 18:59:36 +0000Jared Saylor30458 at http://earthjustice.orgThe Insanity of Pennsylvania Coal Ashhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/the-insanity-of-pennsylvania-coal-ash
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>The Insanity of Pennsylvania Coal Ash</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Wednesday, November 27, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>One of the nation&rsquo;s largest coal ash dumps spans two states (West Virginia and Pennsylvania) and borders a third (Ohio). It is 30 times larger than the Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant which burst in 2008.</p>
<p>The Little Blue Run coal ash impoundment has poisoned nearby waters with arsenic, selenium, boron and more. Residents tell of murky sludge oozing from the ground around their homes.</p>
<div><img alt="Russ Maddox." src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/lgm-80.jpg" /></div>
<p>In the third installment of our series leading up to the 5-year anniversary of the coal ash spill in Kingston, TN, we travel to Pennsylvania to hear from Lisa&nbsp;Graves-Marcucci, a community outreach coordinator with the <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Integrity Project</a>, and the work being done to clean up the pollution at Little Blue.</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">Albert Einstein defined insanity as &ldquo;doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="exim-story">In the absence of federal rules, states are making decisions about how <a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">coal ash</a> is disposed. And some state decisions defy logic, such as in the case of the <a href="http://earthjustice.org/slideshows/campaigns/little-blue-run-living-with-lies-and-coal-ash" target="_blank">Little Blue Run coal ash impoundment</a>. This massive, unlined, nearly 3-square-mile monstrosity has damaged local communities and contaminated water sources in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.</p>
<p class="exim-story">After years of turning a blind eye to this pollution, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection <i>finally</i> stepped in to enforce the laws in response to <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/12_20_2012.php" target="_blank">a notice of intent to sue letter</a> filed by the Environmental Integrity Project and Public Justice, on behalf of the Little Blue Regional Action Group. As a result, a federal court has approved a consent decree that requires cleanup and closure of Little Blue Run. The legal filings acknowledge the damage, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/documents/letter/pdf/pa-dep-letter-on-lbr-closure-plan" target="_blank">reference a contaminated plume</a> of groundwater and note &ldquo;that groundwater degradation has occurred at the impoundment and will exist at closure and thereafter.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="exim-story">So, why does the local community&rsquo;s recent victory feel as though it&rsquo;s about to become a defeat?&nbsp; And, how is it possible that coal ash in the unlined Little Blue Run site has been deemed dangerous, but the state is actually considering allowing this same ash to be dumped in other unlined sites in western Pennsylvania? In other words, why is the environmental agency contemplating doing the same thing again, expecting a different outcome?</p>
<p class="exim-story">Earlier this year, FirstEnergy announced plans for dumping the coal ash generated at the Bruce Mansfield plant, beginning in 2017 after the impoundment is closed. FirstEnergy proposes the ash, once dumped at Little Blue Run, will be loaded on barges, traverse 90 miles of the Ohio and Monongahela Rivers&mdash;uncovered along two major drinking water and recreational sources&mdash;and dumped in an unlined mine site in LaBelle, Fayette County, PA. In January, the <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/neighborhoods-west/2013/01/25/FirstEnergy-to-ship-Little-Blue-Run-coal-wastes-to-Fayette-County/stories/201301250140#ixzz2kjUC38xk" target="_blank"><i>Pittsburgh Post Gazette</i> reported that</a>, &ldquo;because coal ash is not classified as a hazardous material, its transport on the rivers is not regulated by the Coast Guard. She [Lt. Junior Grade Alyssa McDonald of the U.S. Coast Guard's boat operation and law enforcement division in Pittsburgh] also said there are no requirements that the ash be transported in covered barges to prevent it from blowing into the rivers and river banks.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="exim-story">Why on earth would the same ash deemed dangerous in one community be considered safe for any other? And, most importantly, why would the state of Pennsylvania or any other state even consider this ill-conceived proposal? The answer is that <a href="http://earthjustice.org/features/campaigns/in-harm-s-way-coal-ash-contaminated-sites">despite the pollution and destruction</a>, there are still <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/10_29_2013.php" target="_blank">no federal rules</a> to ensure safe disposal of coal ash.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Because there are no federal regulations, states continue to hold a cavalier attitude about coal ash and its propensity to harm communities and the environment. Without federal rules in place, power plants will continue to dump millions of tons of coal ash <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/11_07_2013.php" target="_blank">into unlined and leaky pits</a>&mdash;and into our drinking water; and the health of our watersheds will remain in harm&rsquo;s way.</p>
<p class="exim-story">We need to stop this insanity. Americans have waited long enough for the federal rules that were promised in the wake of the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/12/24/crews-trying-to-contain-500-million-gallons-sludge-that-destroyed-tennessee/" target="_blank">TVA Kingston coal ash disaster</a>. It&rsquo;s been 5 years since that horrible tragedy and yet common sense safeguards are still not in place.</p>
<p class="exim-story">The mounting evidence of damage cases like Little Blue Run can no longer be ignored: <a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">coal ash is dangerous</a> and has caused widespread water pollution across the United States. It contains toxic metals that leak and seep into our groundwater, rivers, lakes, and streams and create havoc for decades after disposal stops. We need decision makers at all levels&mdash;the White House, Office of Management and Budget, Congress, and the Environmental Protection Agency&mdash; to listen to the facts and not the political rhetoric by industry lobbyists and their supporters. There is no excuse for further delay. We need common sense protections in place now.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Health protections are the priority. It&rsquo;s long overdue that Congress step aside and let the EPA do its job and finalize the coal ash rule. Our health matters and time is of the essence.</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p>If you missed it, read part one of this blog series, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/no-epa-progress-on-anniversary-of-coal-ash-disaster">"No EPA Progress on Anniversary of Coal Ash Disaster"</a>, and <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/dirtying-america-s-remote-frontier">an opinion piece from Russ Maddox</a> on the impacts of coal mined in Alaska and burned at Alaskan power plants in part two.</p>
<p>Learn more about coal ash in an <a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">interactive infographic</a>:</p>
<p><a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank"><img height="101" width="550" src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/coalash-info-head2-550.gif" alt="The Coal Ash Problem, presented by Earthjustice." /></a></p>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/coal">Coal</a>, <a href="/tags/coal-ash">Coal Ash</a>, <a href="/tags/environmental-protection-agency">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, <a href="/tags/obama-administration">Obama administration</a>, <a href="/tags/tr-ash-talk">Tr-Ash Talk</a>, <a href="/tags/water">Water</a></span>
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Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:25:22 +0000Jared Saylor30460 at http://earthjustice.orgDirtying America's Remote Frontierhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/dirtying-america-s-remote-frontier
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Dirtying America&#039;s Remote Frontier</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Thursday, November 21, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Alaska&mdash;the last frontier of untamed American wilderness. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s also home to dirty coal. The second part of our <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/no-epa-progress-on-anniversary-of-coal-ash-disaster">ongoing series</a> about communities dealing with coal ash problems takes us far north where in Fairbanks four coal-fired power plants generate coal ash used as fill for nearby lowlands.</p>
<p>Russ Maddox, a <a href="/50states/2013/russell-maddox">2013 Clean Air Ambassador</a> and member of the Sierra Club Council of Leaders Executive Committee, <a href="http://www.rbca-alaska.org/" target="_blank">Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance</a>, and Alaska Youth for Environmental Action, lives in Seward, AK, which deals with the effects of coal exports and coal dust.<br />
In 2012, Russ wrote about the <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2012-march/tr-ash-talk-alaska-leaders-bury-their-heads-in-coal-ash">problems of coal ash</a> in his community for <i>unEarthed</i>. But earlier this month, <a href="http://www.alaskadispatch.com/print/article/20131105/alaskas-inferior-coal-should-never-be-called-clean" target="_blank">he published an opinion piece in the <em>Alaska Dispatch</em></a> on the inferiority of coal mined in Alaska and burned at Alaskan power plants.</p>
<div><a href="/50states/2013/russell-maddox"><img alt="Russ Maddox." src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/russ-80.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>We&rsquo;re pleased to share Russ&rsquo; opinion piece here and look forward to continue our work together with him and his community to establish federal safeguards for coal ash disposal:</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p class="exim-story exim-story-first">&ldquo;Nearly a century of burning wet, inferior coal for power and heat has left an indelible mark across our state. Our coal is not superior, and I'm not a disloyal Alaskan for saying such a thing.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Alaska&rsquo;s sole producing coal mine likes to characterize its coal as "<a href="http://www.usibelli.com/Enviro-water.php" target="_blank">clean</a>." They've even gone so far as to claim that it is environmentally friendly. For years, we Alaskans have been subjected to their overzealous exaggerations through slick and heartwarming advertisements. This myth has become part of our identity. Our children have been plied with coal candy and &ldquo;I Love Alaska Clean Coal&rdquo; <a href="http://grist.org/article/2011-02-17-stop-polluters-clean-air-clean-water-are-under-attack/" target="_blank">trinkets</a> distributed on field trips, and at parades and fairs for generations. I've often debated the quality of Usibelli&rsquo;s coal with many well-intentioned, thoughtful folks who tend to get emotional and see this as some sort of a matter of state pride and consider me disloyal for even suggesting that &ldquo;our&rdquo; coal is not superior.</p>
<div><img alt="The coal gift bag. (Russ Maddox)" src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/coalash-ak-trink-250.jpg" /></p>
<div>The coal gift bag.<br><a target="_blank" href="http://grist.org/article/2011-02-17-stop-polluters-clean-air-clean-water-are-under-attack/">(Photo courtesy of Russ Maddox via Grist)</a></div>
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<p class="exim-story">The fact of the matter is that Usibelli coal varies from very-low-grade sub-bituminous to even lower grade lignite. Roughly half of Usibelli's coal is burned in the Interior's small coal-fired power plants, and the other half goes south to Seward for export to distant destinations. The one single redeeming characteristic of Usibelli coal is that compared to other coal it is relatively low in sulfur. Usibelli coal is very high in moisture and very low in heating value and contains all of the same heavy metals and poly-aromatic-hydrocarbons as other coal. In distant power plants, Alaska coal is &ldquo;blended&rdquo; with higher quality coal which has higher levels of sulfur, to reduce the overall emissions of sulfur oxides to comply with their respective air regulations. Nowhere but Alaska is this low-grade coal used as a stand-alone fuel. More than one engineer has told me over the years that similar reductions in sulfur oxides could be achieved by &ldquo;blending&rdquo; ordinary dirt with the higher quality coals.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Nearly a century of burning this inferior coal for power and heat has left an indelible mark across our state. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently considering placing a downtown Fairbanks neighborhood on the National Priorities List for contamination from fallout and ash spread from the downtown coal-fired power plant. In Seward a soon-to-be-released <a href="http://www.thesewardphoenixlog.com/story/2012/03/29/local/citizens-to-test-the-air-in-seward/032920121533683522343.html" target="_blank">dust study</a> reveals that oftentimes more than half of the dust blowing over our small boat harbor is coal dust from the gigantic coal stockpiles awaiting export. With Usibelli subsidiary, Aurora Energy <a href="ftp://ftp.epa.gov/reg10ftp/sites/aurora_energy/" target="_blank">owning the downtown power plant</a> in Fairbanks and operating the export facility in Seward, the Usibellis are prominent members of our communities and wield tremendous political clout. They also provide comparatively inexpensive albeit inferior coal for retail sale for home use up and down the Railbelt. When oil prices skyrocketed in 2008, more people resorted to burning coal for home heating. With increased home use come <a href="http://sewardcitynews.com/2013/09/residents-raise-coal-burning-concerns/" target="_blank">increased conflicts</a> between those who burn coal and their neighbors who don&rsquo;t but suffer the consequences.</p>
<p class="exim-story">A bit of <a href="http://cleanairfairbanks.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/caf-report-alaska-heating-coal-may-violate-manufacturer-fuel-use-requirements/" target="_blank">research</a> revealed that many coal stoves currently in use and available for sale in Alaska are not designed nor certified for low quality coal such as Usibelli's. Many of the most popular indoor coal stoves available here were manufactured back east and were designed and certified for use with their low-moisture, high heating-value anthracite coal. Burning inferior coal in a stove designed and certified for anthracite even once invalidates any warranty and could compromise any insurance claim involving damages caused by misuse.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Usibelli coal can be as high as 34 percent moisture. Imagine those coal trains with every third rail car full of water; that is Usibelli coal. Underwriters Laboratories tests and certifies all coal stoves using anthracite coal with only 5 percent moisture content. Burning such moist coal creates excessive smoke, increasing <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/16/nation/la-na-fairbanks-air-pollution-20130217" target="_blank">air pollution</a> and also leaves more <a href="http://www.akaction.org/Publications/Coal_Development/Coal_Ash_in_Alaska_Feb_2011.pdf" target="_blank">ash</a> to contend with. Burning such moist coal increases soot buildup in the chimney that can cause chimney fires. Burning such wet coal tends to cause gases to build up that can explode inside the stove and chimney. Even one explosion can damage seals and gaskets and loosen screws which could cause leaks which would increase risk of exposure to carbon monoxide inside homes. This same phenomenon occurs in the power plants, much to the dismay of their neighbors.</p>
<p class="exim-story">Loyal coal users like to downplay the risk and blame the operator if it explodes but the fact of the matter is, the coal is simply too wet. It comes out of the ground that way, and when dried it crumbles to dust. To fully combust would require additional or forced air to the firebox as hydronic boilers and power plants have. Dampers are often misguidedly installed in chimneys to further extend burn time, but this only increases the risk of explosion. Such wet coal needs more air not less. To his credit, after being notified of this confounding oversight, the Alaska State Fire Marshal quickly issued a <a href="http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/state-urges-caution-with-wood-coal-stoves/article_25533de6-3e18-11e3-8a98-001a4bcf6878.html" target="_blank">public service announcement</a> warning of using unapproved fuel in household stoves.</p>
<p class="exim-story">As we enter into another winter, it is not clear how this revelation will affect the many hundreds of residents burning inferior coal in unsafe stoves across the state. Who is responsible? The unwitting consumer? The stove dealer who sold you the stove and directed you where to buy the coal? The manufacturer or distributor who sold coal stoves to a distant state with no suitable fuel available? Or the unscrupulous coal mine determined to sell its inferior coal?&rdquo;</p>
<p>This opinion piece was first published in the <a href="http://www.alaskadispatch.com/print/article/20131105/alaskas-inferior-coal-should-never-be-called-clean" target="_blank">Alaska Dispatch</a>.</p>
<p><img width="30" height="10" alt="" src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/feature_full/2011/oceans-main-dots.gif" /></p>
<p>If you missed it, read part one of this blog series, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/no-epa-progress-on-anniversary-of-coal-ash-disaster">No EPA Progress on Anniversary of Coal Ash Disaster</a> and explore <a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">the coal ash infographic</a>:</p>
<p><a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank"><img height="101" width="550" src="/sites/default/files/blog/2013/coalash-info-head2-550.gif" alt="The Coal Ash Problem, presented by Earthjustice." /></a></p>
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Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:22:01 +0000Jared Saylor30468 at http://earthjustice.orgNo EPA Progress on Anniversary of Coal Ash Disasterhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-november/no-epa-progress-on-anniversary-of-coal-ash-disaster
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>No EPA Progress on Anniversary of Coal Ash Disaster</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Wednesday, November 13, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>It was early October, but the trees were still a vibrant green. Fall had not yet arrived and winter was still a distant concern in Kingston, TN. Fishing boats and jet skis were tied to docks along the Clinch River, and even though it was a Thursday morning it was obvious that folks in this small community were already gearing up for weekend fun.</p>
<p>This was the scene a few weeks ago when I arrived in Kingston with a group of about 40 journalists and activists to tour the ongoing cleanup of one of the biggest environmental disasters in our nation&rsquo;s history. Five years before at 1 a.m., <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/us/25sludge.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=2&amp;">Dec. 22, 2008</a>, as the town slept, a coal ash dumpsite at the Tennessee Valley Authority&rsquo;s Kingston power plant burst through a poorly constructed levee, releasing more than a billion gallons of toxic waste onto the sleeping town. A rumbling flood of contaminated waste rushed nearly six miles downstream. Donna Lisenby, of <a target="_blank" href="http://waterkeeper.org/">Waterkeeper Alliance</a>, canoed down the rivers among giant &ldquo;ashbergs,&rdquo; 12-foot tall mounds of wet coal ash, as she tested waters shortly after the disaster.</p>
<div><img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/campaign/coalash/tva-300.jpg" alt="The Kingston, TN, coal ash spill. In 2008, residents all along the Emory River woke up to the tragedy of 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash that spilled from the Tennessee Valley Authority&#039;s Kingston Fossil Plant. The spill covered 300 acres, destroyed homes, poisoned rivers and contaminated coves and residential drinking waters. (TVA)" />The Kingston coal ash spill. <i>(TVA)</i></div>
<p>Miraculously, no one was injured. But two dozen houses were damaged or destroyed and more than 300 acres of shoreline and rivers were polluted. The&nbsp;plant operators have been cleaning up the mess ever since and are nearing completion. The disaster catapulted coal ash to the front pages. People asked, <a href="/coalash/infographic">&ldquo;What is coal ash?&rdquo;</a> and the answer was not pretty. The ash remaining from burning coal at power plants is often full of toxic metals like arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium and more.</p>
<p>The event sparked a national effort to establish the first ever federal safeguards for coal ash, which is dumped at more than 1,400 sites <a href="/features/campaigns/state-fact-sheets-on-coal-ash">across the country</a>. But five years later there still are no federal protections. Despite the size and severity of the Kingston spill, the EPA has continued to drag its feet. Polluters have seized on the delay, turning to their supporters in Congress to repeatedly introduce legislation that would prohibit the EPA from ever setting federal regulations for coal ash.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this isn&rsquo;t the only story of coal ash contamination. Over the coming weeks in this blog, some of our partners and colleagues will write their stories about coal ash. Communities in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Alaska and more are dealing with their own environmental disasters. Our friends at the <a href="http://blog.cleanenergy.org/">Southern Alliance for Clean Energy</a> will be telling the stories of coal ash contamination in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and other southern states.</p>
<p>Earthjustice and a dozen other environmental and public health organizations <a href="/news/press/2013/federal-judge-gives-epa-60-days-to-set-deadline-for-coal-ash-regulations">recently won</a> a lawsuit that will require the Environmental Protection Agency to set a deadline for regulating coal ash. They should know these stories of coal ash contamination. Let&rsquo;s hope that by the 6th anniversary, long overdue protections are finally in place.</p>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<p><a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">(View the interactive version)</a></p>
<p><img width="550" height="2653" alt="The Coal Ash Problem." src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/campaign/coalash/CoalAsh_Infographic-550.jpg" usemap="#infomap" /></p>
<p><a href="/coalash/infographic" target="_blank">(View the interactive version)</a></p>
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Wed, 13 Nov 2013 22:18:45 +0000Jared Saylor30472 at http://earthjustice.orgNever Say Die in the Fight For Clean Waterhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-september/never-say-die-in-the-fight-for-clean-water
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Never Say Die in the Fight For Clean Water</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Wednesday, September 11, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Earlier this summer, I was talking to a colleague and friend in Missouri, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/50states/2013/patricia-schuba">Patricia Schuba</a>. She lives only a few miles from the Show Me State&rsquo;s biggest coal-fired power plant, Ameren Corporation&rsquo;s Labadie Power Station.</p>
<p>She was preparing to come to Washington to testify before the EPA on a proposal to clean up toxic water pollution from power plants. But before she got on the plane, she had a meeting to attend in St. Louis where Ameren <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-the-climate-change-debate-pay-now-or-pay-more/article_95e4326c-e5b3-5bce-9277-c283c6e3b376.html" target="_blank">was proposing to build</a> another 1,100-acre coal ash pond directly in the floodplain of the Missouri River.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It never ends here in Missouri,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;If they try and build another coal ash dump, we&rsquo;re going to fight back. That&rsquo;s something they don&rsquo;t seem to understand. We&rsquo;re never going to give up.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Nearly 50,000 of you aren&rsquo;t giving up either.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ve <a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=1483" target="_blank">told the EPA</a>&nbsp;to clean up power plant water pollution, and we cannot thank you enough. In May, the agency proposed a series of options for cleaning up the billions of pounds of arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxic pollutants that power plants dump every year into our waters. For more than 30 years, this industry was given a free pass to pollute, making it <a href="http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/steam-electric/proposed.cfm" target="_blank">the largest source of toxic water pollution</a> in the country. If EPA does the right thing, water pollution from power plants could be drastically reduced.</p>
<p>But the opportunity for us to tell the EPA to clean up power plant water pollution is coming to an end.</p>
<p>In July, Patricia and I marched with 200 other activists <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-august/water-advocates-urge-action-by-the-epa">from all over the country into EPA headquarters</a>, demanding the strongest protections from this pollution. Later that month, we joined Clean Water Action, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance and the Environmental Integrity Project to produce a comprehensive report on the problems of power plant water pollution, <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports/07_23_2013.php" target="_blank">offering up 20 case studies</a> where waters were already being polluted, including the plant in Patricia&rsquo;s backyard. Communities across the nation held local rallies and events to generate interest in the EPA&rsquo;s plan and get people sending messages that enough is enough: power plants need to clean up their act!</p>
<p>On Sept. 20, the EPA will close its public comment period for this important rulemaking. We&rsquo;re well on our way to generate more than 150,000 comments demanding clean water and limits to power plant pollution.</p>
<p>But we can never have too much. There&rsquo;s still time left. Take a moment <a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=1483" target="_blank">to tell the EPA why clean water is important to you</a>, why cleaning up toxic water pollution from power plants needs to happen now. No matter what the challenge, Patricia and I never give up, and we know you won&rsquo;t either. That&rsquo;s our greatest strength, and it&rsquo;s one the polluters will never understand.</p>
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Wed, 11 Sep 2013 18:52:48 +0000Jared Saylor30517 at http://earthjustice.orgEPA's Mixed Bag of Options on Power Plant Water Pollutionhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-april/epa-s-mixed-bag-of-options-on-power-plant-water-pollution
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>EPA&#039;s Mixed Bag of Options on Power Plant Water Pollution</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Tuesday, April 23, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/power-plant-wastewater_epa_800.jpg?itok=upXffwYE" width="800" height="600" alt="A power plant located next to a waterway." title="A power plant located next to a waterway." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Power plants are the biggest sources of water pollution in the country. Power plant water discharges are filled with toxic pollution such as mercury, arsenic, lead, and selenium.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Photo</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Coal-fired power plant pollution is contaminating our water, not just our air. Here&rsquo;s how: when plants install scrubbers and other emission control devices onto smokestacks to capture air pollution, the chemical waste they pull from the air is then discharged into our waterways.</p>
<p>Not good.</p>
<p>This discharge contains mercury, arsenic, selenium and other toxic chemicals that can cause neurological and developmental damage, harm unborn fetuses in utero, damage internal organs, and cause cancer. Coal plants are the number one toxic discharger into our country&rsquo;s waterways, yet the Environmental Protection Agrency has not reviewed clean water regulations for this industry in more than 30 years.</p>
<p>Until now.</p>
<p>On Friday, the EPA&nbsp; <a href="/news/press/2013/after-30-years-of-inaction-epa-finally-proposes-plans-for-power-plant-water-pollution">proposed</a> multiple options for regulation of this waste. Options 4 and 5 are sufficient to effectively clean up water pollution from more than 1,000 power plants. However, the EPA identified &ldquo;four preferred&rdquo; regulatory options - none of was options 4 or 5. Known as effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs) for power plants, one option among the four would require dry handling of and/or treatment of enormous metal-laden waste stream, like fly ash and flue gas desulfurization sludge, generated by the coal burning process. Consequently, under this option power plants would no longer be able to add huge volumes of liquid waste to impoundments and discharge this waste into our rivers and streams.</p>
<p>The EPA&rsquo;s other preferred options, however, would do little to clean up the nation&rsquo;s biggest sources of water pollution. Overall, we give the administration a failing grade&mdash;since three of their four preferred options pander to industry and fail to change the pattern of power plants dumping toxic waste into American waterways.</p>
<p>Environmental groups filed a lawsuit in 2010 to force the EPA to take action and regulate this dirty industry. Here is what Clean Water Action, Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and Waterkeeper Alliance had to say on the new proposal:</p>
<blockquote><p>After thirty years of inaction, the EPA has finally offered a plan that utilizes affordable, available pollution controls to clean up power plant water discharges. Unfortunately, the agency also included additional options for this waste that cater to industry and deny communities the relief they deserve from toxic water pollution.</p>
<p>We need strong protections that limit the amount of mercury, lead, arsenic and other heavy metals that power plants are dumping into the rivers, lakes and streams where we fish, boat, swim and drink.</p>
<p>The technology to clean up power plant water discharges exists, and in some cases is already being used. But without any oversight from the federal agency charged with keeping America&rsquo;s waters safe and clean, power plants will simply continue to dump poisons unabated.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>According to the consent decree, the EPA must publish a final ELG rule by May 2014. The EPA still has time to get this right.</p>
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Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:56:09 +0000Jared Saylor29731 at http://earthjustice.orgWithout Coal Ash Rule, Litigation Helps Communitieshttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-march/without-coal-ash-rule-litigation-helps-communities
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Without Coal Ash Rule, Litigation Helps Communities</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jared-saylor" title="Jared Saylor">Jared Saylor</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Friday, March 01, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/lbr-800.jpg?itok=Q95D5I15" width="800" height="600" alt="Pennsylvania residents Sabrina Mislevy and Barbara Reed stand near the Little Blue Run coal ash dump site." title="Pennsylvania residents Sabrina Mislevy and Barbara Reed stand near the Little Blue Run coal ash dump site." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Pennsylvania residents Sabrina Mislevy and Barbara Reed stand near the Little Blue Run coal ash dump site. Litigation has led to the state phasing out the dump by 2016.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Photo used with permission</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>It&rsquo;s been over four years since a billion gallons of toxic coal ash <a target="_blank" href="/blog/2012-november/180-seconds-of-coal-ash-pollution">flooded</a> a small town in Tennessee. We&rsquo;ve been <a target="_blank" href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=1379">fighting</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://earthjustice.org/features/campaigns/north-carolina-fights-back-coal-ash-pollution">ever</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-february/tr-ash-talk-toolkit-to-fight-against-coal">since</a> for the EPA to set federally enforceable safeguards to protect the thousands of communities across the country threatened by coal ash, but the agency has yet to act.</p>
<p>But just because the EPA isn&rsquo;t doing anything doesn&rsquo;t mean nothing is being done. While the agency twiddles its regulatory thumbs on much-needed protections from the arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium and other pollutants commonly found in coal ash, many local and national environmental groups are taking coal ash pond owners to court to get them to clean up the coal ash mess. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/02/22/12223/epa-delays-new-coal-ash-rules-residents-turn-courts-relief">The Center for Public Integrity published a story today</a> outlining some of the dozens of legal actions happening from Montana to North Carolina where groups are challenging coal ash disposal using a variety of environmental laws.</p>
<p>CPI writes:</p>
<blockquote><p>Some places, like Montana, have encountered a history of litigation.</p>
<p>Last fall, environmentalists filed two new suits over coal-ash ponds surrounding the town of Colstrip. There, the ponds have caused such widespread damage to aquifers that they fueled years of claims by residents and ranchers, The Center for Public Integrity reported in 2009.</p>
<p>Other places, including Georgia, are witnessing their first coal-ash cases.</p>
<p>Still others, such as South Carolina, have seen a wave of legal action targeting ash ponds, some leaching arsenic at levels 300 times safety standards.</p>
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<p>The Environmental Integrity Project, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Public Justice, Waterkeeper Alliance, and <a href="http://earthjustice.org/our_work/cases/2012/legal-fight-for-long-overdue-coal-ash-protections">Earthjustice</a> are just a few of the organizations leading the legal challenges on behalf of affected citizens, local community groups, national environmental and public health groups and Native American tribes. Their success is notable: <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/08/120809-little-blue-run-coal-ash-pond-to-close/" target="_blank">litigation by the Environmental Integrity Project</a> and <a href="http://publicjustice.net/">Public Justice</a> on behalf of the <a href="/slideshows/campaigns/little-blue-run-living-with-lies-and-coal-ash#/sites/default/files/lb-7584-700.jpg" target="_blank">Little Blue Regional Action Group</a> in Pennsylvania led to that state phasing out the nation&rsquo;s largest coal ash dump by 2016 and an $800,000 fine for the dump&rsquo;s owners, FirstEnergy.</p>
<p>In addition, as a result of a suit brought by SELC and the Catawba Riverkeeper, a South Carolina utility <a href="http://www.catawbariverkeeper.org/issues/coal-ash-1/sce-g-and-catawba-riverkeeper-reach-settlement-on-coal-ash-storage" target="_blank">agreed</a> to removal of all ash from its leaking pond and a transition to safer dry handling.</p>
<p>But these legal challenges alone cannot stem the tide of coal ash pollution. Over 1,600 coal ash ponds and dumps <a href="/features/campaigns/state-fact-sheets-on-coal-ash">exist in the U.S.</a>, and data show that pollution at 200 of these sites has <a href="/features/campaigns/in-harm-s-way-coal-ash-contaminated-sites">already contaminated</a> nearby lakes, rivers, streams and aquifers. More contamination is likely; many of these coal ash ponds are old and poorly maintained. Dozens are near neighborhoods and homes, and the EPA has determined that a failure at these &ldquo;high hazard&rdquo; ponds could kill nearby residents. The efforts by these groups to fight for clean air and clean water is commendable, and the EPA should take note. That agency has the responsibility to ensure that all communities are protected from coal ash pollution by finalizing federal coal ash regulations.</p>
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<span class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</span>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/coal-ash">Coal Ash</a>, <a href="/tags/environmental-protection-agency">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, <a href="/tags/tr-ash-talk">Tr-Ash Talk</a></span>
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Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:41:32 +0000Jared Saylor29488 at http://earthjustice.org